mending hearts
by A Tired Coffee Lover
Summary: in which two broken girls find a family in each other. (au)
1. Chapter 1

Hello, everybody! Nice to meet you! I'm in a super good mood right now, just coming from reading a super good book (OMG YOU HAVE TO READ THE GLASS CASTLE BUT I'M PRETTY SURE THIS IS BREAKING LIKE 1000 RULES THAT I DO NOT KNOW BUT WHATEVER), and I am chilling with some pretty good music. This created a perfect situation for something dangerous. Something risky. Something also is known as…. PLOT BUNNIES!

As a result, I decided to try my hand at writing (again), but I decided that my first story was utter trash. Like seriously. I didn't know how to fix it, and I still don't know how to, but I want to try and write again. This little fic may be dark, but it might get better?

Please give me constructive criticism, and as always, please enjoy!

Rated T for cursing. Rating might change, depending on the level of gore I incorporate into this story…

I don't own Fairy Tail. This will be the last time I write this disclaimer since I honestly have the memory of a goldfish (except for those random things that everybody else forgets, but you know, it's a special talent of mine). I make no profit off of this, etc., etc. ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

 _In which a broken person gains the chance to be the hero._

* * *

Helena was in the middle of a good dream. She could fly, well, at least she could jump extended distances. Gummy bears in the background danced to her ringtone, "The Gummy Bear Song". Her ruby hair, which was the only feature she actually liked about herself, whipped around in the wind. Her sister clung to her back, her musical laughter making Helena smile. This was the girl she raised. The younger sister that she treated like her own daughter. The girl that she depended on for love and attention that her distant father and busy mother could never provide.

Like she said before, she was in a good dream, with extra emphasis on the _dream_ part. What seemed like moments later, Helena woke up with a massive headache and a raging hatred for her polka-dotted curtains, which were currently not doing their one job of supposedly keeping out the sun. After several failed attempts of going back to her little dream world, Helena grumpily lifted her head, absentmindedly wiping off the drool and tying back the frizzy halo of hair into a messy ponytail.

"Wha-," Helena sleepily mumbled before realizing where she was. "Ugh."

Fully getting her ass out of her chair, Helena placed the sketchbook that she was sleeping on only moments before into her backpack while trying to ignore the rather conspicuous drool stain that marred yet another half-finished drawing of her sister. Languidly, she slipped on some clothes that were lying randomly around the messy room.

Helena felt fully relaxed until she finally spared a glance towards her battered alarm clock, which was dented from the numerous amounts of time that she threw it at the wall in a desperate attempt to get it to shut up.

"Shit! It's 9:00! Shit, shit, shit!"

Throwing open the door, Helena slipped down the wooden floor of her home's hallway, rushed into her mother's room where her mother was motionless in her grief over Helena's beautiful, wonderful, sun-to-her-moon, _dead_ sister to say goodbye, and ran outside.

 _Her mother never deserved Chloe. Helena would have been the better mother. She would have given Chloe the world in order for her to just smile._

Grimacing, Helena dashed down the streets.

Then she realized that there was no school today.

 _This was all her parents' fault. If they just showed a little bit of love, Chloe might not have been so desperate for attention._

After her sister died, Helena became more inattentive and retreated into her own little world. A once straight-A student suddenly received failing grades, since Helena couldn't bear look at her books without thinking of numerous bedtime stories read to a little girl whose smiles once lit up her world. Instead, all her days blended into one never-ending nightmare. She only trudged out of the house- _her house, she payed the bills, anyways, while her mother was too busy being out of the house and her father doing who knows what_ \- every once in a while to let everybody know that she was still alive.

On her way home, Helena contemplated just staying at her friend's home in order to avoid the silence that began plaguing her home, with her parents who divorced after… the incident and her sister, _whydidChloehavetodiewhycouldn'tanybodyelsecouldhavediedinstead,_ gone.

Helena decided against it, since her friends became distant after Helena neglected her relationships. But what do they matter? Helena lost the one person that her life centered around. Making the turn to the street where her sister died, Helena froze as a red ball bounced onto the street. Looking onto the sidewalk, where she swore there was nobody there before, was a teenager with copper curls flipping through a textbook. Nearby, a little girl with an azure ribbon was reaching out for the toy.

 _Her younger sister was playing with a red ball while she herself was furiously flipping through pages of a thick book. The little girl, Chloe, excitedly shouted to her sister about a new trick that she could do._

" _Just a moment, hon! Can you wait until I finish this? Now where in the world did I find that section about osteoblasts?"_

 _Lost in her own little world, Helena never did look up until a loud screech of tires and a high pitched scream filtered through the air._

Shaking her head, Helena walked around the duo.

Her eyes widened as the child actually walked towards the toy.

Sprinting with the thought of Chloe on her mind, Helena tackled the kid out of the way of a vehicle that sped to a stop with screeching tires.

Furrowing her eyebrows at the child who suddenly wasn't there- why did she hear screaming?-, Helena felt a sudden jolt of pain. Everything burned, and Helena couldn't feel her legs.

Closing her eyes, Helena laid in a tangled heap of flaming red hair and crimson blood.

The last thing she heard was a familiar voice frantically asking her, telling her, desperately _begging_ her to wake up.

Then the world faded to black.

Somewhere else, a pair of eyes flew open.

* * *

WELL THEN. Sorry for all that angst, I guess? Anyways, I will hopefully make the next chapter a little lighter-hearted. Thanks for reading, and all constructive criticism is welcomed! I would prefer if there were no flames, but if you really think my writing is that bad, please phrase it in a way that I could improve it, instead of just berating me for not writing something in the way you wanted me to.

Have a nice day!

Sincerely,

A Tired Coffee Lover


	2. Chapter 2

HELLLOOOOO EVERYBODY!

How are you today? Hopefully, you're fine :D

Hopefully, this chapter will be less dark-ish? Anyways, please enjoy this story! :D

* * *

 _In which misery finds company._

* * *

An eight-year-old girl with sunshine hair sat sobbing in the shadowy corner of her room. Her role model, her protector, her teacher had just passed away, abandoning her. She couldn't believe that her radiant mother had suffered a long and painful death, yet in her final moments, insisted on comforting her family.

She couldn't even think about what would happen to her if even her father left her behind. No, she must not think like that. Papa would always cuddle with her and laugh his big booming laugh, wouldn't he?

Lucy couldn't do anything. She couldn't even lie to herself. Her darker thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud groan.

"W-who? W-who just said that?"

The voice didn't respond for a while. Thinking she was just going crazy and hallucinating from the grief of her mother's passing, Lucy blindly searched for her handkerchief and blew her nose loudly. If her mother was here, she would comfort Lucy. She would…

 _Don't worry. Everything will be alright._

Startled by the voice, Lucy frantically looked around her room for the source.

"Hello?" she timidly asked.

… _. I'm Helena. Do you know where I can find my sister?_

"W-what? No! My m-mommy just died... "

 _Look. I'm sorry. Just tell me where I can find my sister in this goddam- uh. Please tell me where my sister, kiddo. Aren't you supposed to know this stuff? You've been dead longer than I have, right?_

"No. I'm not dead. I'm not stupid, not the way all the servants think I am. I'm just… I'm just shy. That's what Mommy would say. Also, sorry, but, um, I don't know where your sister is."

 _You sure? You might be in shock. Anyways, have you at least seen somebody who barely is four feet, has a blue ribbon, and has curly red hair?_

"I told you, I'm not dead! D-dummy! And what is that word, uh, feet, anyways?"

 _Are you serious? How do you not know what feet is? Wait. Where is this place? What is your name? What year is it?_

Lucy felt uncomfortable by the probing questions and shifted in her spot for a moment before answering.

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia… We are in Fiore, in my room. It's X777. B-but, um, did you lose your memory, ma'am? And where are you, anyways? I can't see you!"

The lady that she was talking to suddenly gasped.

 _L-Lucy Heartfilia? The one that was anno- I mean, the one who is a, um, wonderful person who totally doesn't whine all the time about her rent when she could just go and live with her Natsu. Also, I can see a room and a small crying girl. Is that you? All I need to do is find my sister. Will you help me, or will you not?_

Lucy had no idea about what to say to that.

 _I can go find my sister by myself._

"W-wait! Please don't go! I mean, ahem, please don't leave? I'm really lonely. Papa told me to just stay here, and I really don't know what to do."

 _Alright. Hope you know that I couldn't have gone anywhere, anyways. The sooner you get stronger, the sooner we can accomplish our goals._

"Wait, but seriously, where are you?"

 _I thought you were smart,_ Helena chuckled _, I'm going to be that voice in the back of your head. I guess I'll have to raise a little duckling_

"Hey! I'm not a duckling! I'm a, um, anything but a duckling!"

 _Sure, little kitten._

"HEY!"

* * *

Well. Was that less angsty for y'all? I tried incorporating some humor, but usually, whenever I try making the story funnier, it gets too light-hearted.

Anyways, hope that this was better than the first chapter!

Sincerely,

A Tired Coffee Lover


	3. Chapter 3

ONCE AGAIN, I WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE THIRD CHAPTER OF MY STORY! I'm currently writing this in the Coming Soon font of Google Drive, because it's most like my handwriting in real life, except for the "y's" and the "g's", and I like those kinds of things. However, the downside of this font is that it is _very_ hard to distinguish the periods, because they are so small, and the commas because they look like slightly elongated periods. As a result, since I am unwilling to change my awesome-font-of-awesomeness, I just pray that my typing skills are as sharp as always. Hopefully, there will be no grammar mistakes, but if there are, the font will be my excuse (as well as the general lack of sleep, but that's a given, seeing my screen name).

Please enjoy this chapter!

* * *

 _In which two broken people begin to heal._

* * *

The Heartfilia Manor was quite beautiful. The large lake in the backyard shimmered an alluring aquamarine in the rising sun. In the forests, the tall trees rustled and swayed in the breeze, emerald leaves lazily moving from side to side. The gardens of the Heartfilia mansion were breathtaking in a myriad of violets, reds, and sunshine yellows. Yes. The place was a beautiful place to-

 _GET YOUR ASS MOVING. HEARTFILIA!_

"H-Hai!"

A few early rising servants took a double take at the young heiress because she would usually wake up much later. Also, was she talking to herself?

 _I hope you know that in order to talk to me, you don't have to speak so loudly or speak outwardly at all._

"Oh."

Cue a major face-palm moment for Helena.

 **So I speak like this?**

 _Yes, genius. Nice to know that your little kitten brain is actually functioning._

 **Hey! If I knew that you were going to be this m-mean to me, I never would have asked you to stay! Mommy said that people should not be mean to me!**

 _Now that's just rude I'm sure your mother wouldn't approve of your behavior. And don't think you can distract me from ordering you to run. Go, little kitten!_

Sighing, Lucy resigned herself to her task of running the entirety of the trail in the forest fifty times.

 **Helena-san, wouldn't Papa wonder where I am?**

Helena was silent for a while. She might not care so much about Lucy, since she was just a way to find her sister, Helena wasn't mean enough to just blatantly tell Lucy that her father didn't care about where Lucy was. He was going through a difficult time where he just lost the love of his life, but Lucy didn't necessarily understand that

 _Kid… your Papa … why don't you leave a pillow under the covers whenever you go on these early morning runs?_

 **Ah! Good idea, Helena-san! All the protagonists in the stories I read do that whenever they have to sneak out! Isn't that so cool!**

Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Helena just told the kid to shut up and use that overflowing energy to run.

 **But Helena-san, I never actually felt this energized until you came! I have too much energy to do this 'shutting up' thing that you want me to do!**

 _Just. Be. Quiet. And run. Also, I have a feeling that we are going to be stuck together for a while, so just call me Helena. None of that '-san' business while you are talking to me._

 **A-alright Helena. Are you sure? Mommy told me to always be polite and only call people by their first names without honorifics when I've known them for years.**

 _Please just run, kiddo._

 **I am running! And I have a name., Helena. It's Lucy! L-U-C-Y!**

 _Alright, kitten. Whatever you say. Congratulations for beginning to warm up to me._

Lucy let out an unintelligible sound of rage but continued running.

* * *

Lucy slowly got used to her extra energy and began using it to run faster and longer during her daily morning runs. It became a schedule. She would rise with the sun, run for an hour or two, and then go back home to begin her studies. After three months with Helena, Helena finally told her to try something new.

 _So I think that what you're supposed to do is sit down and just don't think of anything. I don't really know too much about this meditating business, but if you can do it, then this will definitely help you become more powerful._

To herself, she mumbled, _Or at least that's what happens in those fanfictions..._

 **Alright. So I'm supposed to just concentrate on nothing, Helena-nee-san?**

Helena couldn't stop Lucy from being uncomfortable without giving her any honorifics, so she finally gave in and told Lucy to call her "sister". She knew that letting Lucy call her nee-san and trying to use the adorable little shit in the future would bite her in the butt, but Helena couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes that Lucy would make.

 _I guess so. Come on, stop fidgeting. Try to be still and listen to nature or something._

 **But you told me to concentrate on nothing!**

 _Ugh. I told you, I don't know. Just, just do something._

 **So you told me to go in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night, just to do something that you aren't even sure about? Mommy said to not listen to strangers telling me to do things like this…**

 _Wait What. What did you just call me? What did you accuse me of- OK. Helena. Calm down. OK. Kid, just be quiet before I try to strangle you._

 **But Mommy said that intangible people can't strangle me!**

 _How does your mother tell you these things?_

 **Mommy knows everything!**

 _Yeah, yeah. Just meditate._

 **Alright.**

Finally plopping down to try and meditate, Lucy tried focusing on the sounds surrounding her; the rustle of leaves being blown in the wind, the musical chirp of crickets and cicadas, the burbling of a nearby stream, and the mournful sound of a faraway wolf howling.

She could feel herself losing herself in nature. But slowly, the scenery that she was imagining in her mind's eye faded away to a pitch black darkness.

In the darkness, a glowing mass of light flickered into existence, dwarfing a ghostly slip of a figure that appeared next to it.

 _Kitten?_

Lucy gasped. "Nee-san?"

 _Oh. Huh. Nice job for being able to meditate on your first try._

"But woah! Where are we?"

 _In your mind, kitten._

"What is that … _thing_ next to you?"

 _It's your magic reservoir, I think_

"B-but it's so bright and big! Mommy said that she couldn't teach me magic because I didn't have enough energy!"

 _Maybe people with magic have even bigger magic reservoirs. Or maybe I gave you more magic or something. Maybe that's why you felt so energetic after I formed. You're welcome, kiddo._

"Mommy said that that's not how multiple personalities are formed."

 _You know what? OK. No. Nee-san doesn't care about what Mommy says. So shush, kitten, shush._

"But-!"

 _No._

"Alright… but Mommy knows everything. Anyways, what am I supposed to do here?"

 _Not sure, actually. Um, try experimenting?_

Moving towards her materialized reservoir of magic, Lucy tried placing her hand on it. However, just as she was about to make contact with the wisps of energy that surrounded the sun-like mass, a voice rang out.

"Don't touch it!"

Helena and Lucy turned to look at the newcomer. Suddenly, Lucy gasped with recognition.

"M-mom?"

* * *

HoI! mY NaMEH iS TEMmIE!111!

Sorry. My obsession with the fantastic game, _Undertale_ , had gotten the better of me. Anyways, hi guys! Thanks for reading this chapter! Please give me feedback! Reviews = More coffee that I can drink = Longer/More chapters! JK I won't do that to you guys. I hate it when authors demand more reviews in order for them to update the story ;_;

Seriously, though, I'm wondering about how I'm writing! It would be awesome if you could tell me how I'm doing.

Also, about how Helena can see Lucy's puppy dog eyes, well, Helena kind of has a third person point of view in Lucy's world. It is mostly centered around Lucy, but she can see in Lucy's blind spots. This will be very important in the future, especially in combat. Eh. Am I making Lucy too OP? I just am _soo_ tired of manga authors creating a princess who has to be saved and is over sexualized. But props to Hiro Mashima for creating Erza! She's a badass person! :)

I just want to create a Lucy who doesn't need to be saved by Natsu like 99% of the time ;_;. But! If you think Lucy is getting too OP, please let me know, and I'll nerf her power, because nobody likes OP people, unless it is a shounen manga (COUGH BLEACH, FAIRY TAIL, NARUTO COUGH). Anyways, thanks for reading!

One good thing about this story is that so far, I'm actually _enjoying_ myself while writing this. :D

Sincerely, A Tired Coffee Lover


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